Salary for entry level Scandinavian / Finnish speakers in Poland

Hello :)

I recently found out about this forum and it has provided me with very good information regarding work life in Poland, however I couldn't find much info about experiences from Scandinavian / Finnish people in Poland. I'm looking to relocate to Warsaw with my Polish girlfriend, and I'm a fresh university gradute with a bachelors in business (Double degree in Business IT and international trade). I'm fluent in Finnish, Swedish (and a bit of Norwegian / Danish) and English, with no Polish knowledge. I have prior experience in IT support and tech sales, less than 2 years.

I've been offered numerous positions around Poland, mainly Warsaw, Crakow and Gdansk, and the salary range has been quite big so it's hard to get an estimate of the average. The job market in Poland really has surprised me, as I've basically been offered a job for each position that I applied to.

I have two job offers as an IT-support engineer, one in Gdansk paying 10000 zl per month, and one paying 8500 zl in Warsaw. I also have a support job for medical devices in Warsaw which pays 9500 zl, and an order handling specialist job in Cracow paying 8000. The latest job I was offered was a customer service advisor in Warsaw for 6000 zl per month.

Basically the range that I've been offered has been from 6000 - 10000 for entry level positions, with Gdansk paying the most (?). Are these good rates for scandinavian speakers in Poland? I'm also afraid that none of these jobs really have any development prospectives and they were offered to me mostly due to my language skills. I wanted to hear of experiences of people from Scandinavian countries possibly progressing in their career in Poland, as I could find no information about this.

Bit different as i am Dutch guy that worked in IT for 2 years in Gdansk.

The thing with career progression in Poland is that foreigners tend to "progress" their career into another country.
Higher position salaries simply arent that interesting in Poland if you are not bound to the country in some other way.
Added to that is the fact that there simply arent that many "higher" positions in Poland. Most foreign companies have their service centers there, but are still managed from abroad.

Same goes for me. When progress came, it meant relocation. I live in Finland now.

I can put you into contact with some Fins if you want, in Gdansk working in IT. But they're mostly low-level jobs and all bigger promotions take them to other countries.

unrelated addition: With a 10k salary (gross i assume) you can live quite comfortably in the Gdansk area. It'll take you far above the average salary. Bit surprising as Gdansk is usually on the lower end of the scale when it comes to salary offers vs Wroclaw and Warsaw. Perhaps times have changed for the better

Thanks for the answer!

I understand now, that the higher level positions for foreign companies aren't usually in Poland. The way I see work in Poland now is to "get my foot in the door", as some of these positions that are entry level in Poland require multiple years of experience in Finland (and many other countries).

I also thought Warsaw would be paying more than Gdansk, however I see now that it depends a lot more on the company than the city. The 10000 zl in Gdansk is offered by an Indian company called Wipro, however, looking at their reviews from Glassdoor, it seems like a horrible place to work at. I'm kind of leaning more towards Warsaw, even with a lower salary, though the living expenses in there would be considerably higher.

I'd appreciate it if you could hit me up with some Fins in Poland, as I know none and there's a lot that I'd want to ask.

@ finswe have you tried Nordea Bank?

nordea.com/en/careers/vacant-positions/?cty=19508&geo=0&area=0&jobid=

There might be a better chance of career development there and your type of degree plus languages are the perfect match for them.

Hey Atch! Actually yes, I tried Nordea and I had an interview for a junior analyst position, however, there were 2 main problems on it:
The location is Lodz, and the salary they offered was only 5500 zl (non-negotiable).

In Finland working at Nordea is really great and well paid, however, it's very hard to get in there and usually they only take people who have a masters in finance / economics from the top universities (unless applying to be a clerk / position that is not really related to banking).

I was really surprised that Nordea in Poland offered such a low salary, as they are known for paying way above average with a defined career progression in Finland.

OMG! The mean, stingy so-and-sos.......the cheek of them, and you with the perfect qualifications and all those languages. I'm gutted for you, that's terrible. I'll see if I can think of any place else :)

finswe,

Similar background on my end, although no Finnish knowledge to speak of, I know Swedish, Danish, and have a passing survival Bokmaal, mostly for reading purposes:-)

tarsape@gmail

quick answer as i dont have time for the long version:

do NOT work for Wipro. Its in the building next to where i worked, had many friday-after-work drinks with the guys and it is by far the most horrible company Gdansk has to offer. Their only + is higher salaries, which they have to offer to even out the horrible working conditions as otherwise their office would be empty.

Trust Glassdoor and Alexbrz.

Glassdoor, Indeed etc. are often outdated and once their on line, they've been snapped up within less then fifteen minutes. Unreliable.